


From dusk till dawn

by Mana_Sputachu



Category: Tekken (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Other characters are briefly mentioned - Freeform, Xiao and Steve are mentioned only, Zombie Apocalypse, but they're relevant for a few things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 07:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30102153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mana_Sputachu/pseuds/Mana_Sputachu
Summary: It was a huge amount of “if” and “maybe”, but it was more than what we had at the time. And in that moment we had nothing but Death breathing on our neck.[A Tekken zombie apocalypse!AU]
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	From dusk till dawn

**Author's Note:**

> If I don’t make a zombie apocalypse/horror AU of something I love, assume I’m dead.  
> I wrote this one back in 2016 for a contest held on the fanfiction site’s forum I was a member of, and actually won first place for once, lol. I’m still pretty proud of how it came out, I had a lot of fun putting it together and adding things from horror media I love. You’ll find a complete list plus the prompt I had to use for this story in the ending notes.  
> Expect zombies, brotps, Bryan being creepy and Xiaojin nods because hey, it's one of my stories, lol.  
> Aaaand yeah, don't think I didn't notice some weird resemblance to our very own pandemic... *sighs*  
> I hope you’ll enjoy it!
> 
> Mana

_It’s the end of the world as we know it and I am relatively calm._

"Fuck!"

If Hwoarang had been there he would have laughed at his fall from grace. Instead, Jin is alone in the basement of what was once the Mishima Zaibatsu. 

_Alone and with a horde of zombies after me_ , he corrects himself.

He curses his luck once again, but above all he curses the stupid idea of going back when they were this close to being able to escape the city.

_Go ahead, I’ll join you in a minute, I said. I'll be quick, I said._

His inner sarcasm almost cost him a bite on the leg, but he quickly manages to avoid it and hits his rotting assailant with a well-placed kick that crushes its head. Without further delay, he runs to the garage hoping to find some of the old Tekken Force jeeps, and using one to get out of there. He does not dare to hope they all have a full tank, which is why he has a can of petrol in his backpack - enough to get to the city limits and, hopefully, find the others.

It only takes him a moment to understand that something is wrong. What, exactly, he does not know, but he feels that strange tingling in the back of his neck that he senses every time something bad is about to happen, and in general he guesses it right: a quick glance at the parking lot confirms that there are still vehicles parked in the garage, and this is good; however, there are few of them - the Zaibatsu's survivors probably used them to flee from there - and cannot provide shelter in the event that...

_Aaaarrrh..._

...there are zombies there too. And this is definitely bad.

He barely represses yet another _fuck_ and accelerates the pace, trying to understand where the noises, distorted by the echo of the parking lot, come from. He instinctively puts his hand on the shotgun, a Remington 870 that he found in the Zaibatsu armory along with ammunition and various kinds of guns. It’s not like he knows how to use it properly, but having it reassures him. He wanted to ask Hwoarang or Lars to teach him how to shoot, but it's too late to complain about it. _Hwoa would have preferred to get infected rather than say yes_ , _anyway_ he adds, annoyed.

He breathes a sigh of relief once he spots a jeep: he’d considered the idea of using a van, the one used by the Force assault teams, but that would have meant looking for the keys and losing more time, and in the worst case scenario he would have had to break a glass, hopefully be able to hot-wiring it and maybe not die in the process, because the noises would have certainly attracted other zombies. The jeep is fine, he keeps saying to himself. It doesn't offer a good protection but at least he doesn’t have to break a glass to enter and, most importantly, he already has the key. _Thanks, Nina._

His left arm itches, and he instinctively caresses it with his free hand. He wonders if he shouldn't have taken other drugs from the infirmary or Boskonovitch's laboratory, but in the end there’s no use in thinking about those: they are not antidotes, and in any case they would only act as palliatives. 

His thoughts are interrupted by a chilling scream, then a second one and a third one: down the parking lot he can clearly see three figures covered in blood, a woman and two men.

_Runners._

In that exact moment, he sees them letting out a deep, creepy growl and run in his direction.

Without thinking Jin jumps into the jeep, throws the backpack on the passenger seat and takes the Remington, taking aim and firing: he manages to shoot down two of them, but when he tries to shoot down the woman he realizes with horror that he has no more ammo.

_Fuck!_

*

_Up until a few hours ago we still dared to hope that we would be able to get out alive._

"A couple of two-liter petrol cans, torches with batteries and canned food."

"Eel? Again?!"

"Sorry, Hwoarang, next time I will make sure to find _foie gras_ for your sophisticated palate."

“Okay okay, there is no need to fight. We still have boxes of beans and fruit salad, and... other stuff I don't remember. At least we have a lot of food for now.”

"Better keep the beans away from him, he doesn't need any more fuel for his _nightly fireworks_."

Jin snorts, and once more he has to stop a fight between those two.

"Damn, stop it! I don't want to be a kindergarten teacher, not now!"

The two men look at each other one last time, then move away a few steps to different sides of the room.

"Thanks."

Neither of them answer him: Lars goes back sorting the stuff he has found, while Hwoarang throws himself on the sofa and finds some distraction in dismantling and reassembling a Glock he found days ago in the Zaibatsu’s armory.

Jin sighs and dismisses the idea of trying to speak with him: his mood has been bad for days, and he knows he is unable to cheer him up, not at that moment and in those conditions. He probably wouldn't be able to do it, anyway. He decides that focusing on their plan is the best thing for now, so he approaches Lars, focused on studying a large map of Tokyo where they have marked all the focal points: the emergency walls that delimit the city, areas in which they can still obtain supplies and those that need to be checked yet, areas to avoid. And then, circled in red, an area in Kanagawa where Lars knew there was a G-Corp helicopter. It was supposed to bring the survivors of the Corp to safety, but something had gone wrong and the aircraft was left unattended. This was the last piece of information Nina had given them, along with the garage keys, before going out on a reconnaissance only to never return. Hwoarang had suggested that she’d probably run away without them. Jin and Lars agreed.

"Have you seen something interesting during your walk?" he asks, in a cheerful tone, in an attempt to mitigate some nervousness. The other didn't notice, apparently: “Runners. There are many more than the other time. "

"Are you sure?"

"I have seen at least two large groups" he replies, drawing two circles with a marker near Shibuya, "here and here. I don’t rule out that there may be others. Luckily they didn't see me, they were busy... feasting" he swallows. “Whoever it was was already dead, there was nothing I could do. He didn't even scream" he justifies himself, but Jin doesn't accuse him of anything. At this point it’s just a matter of survival: they had tried to save as many people as possible during the first few days, but they had discovered too early and in the worst way that they couldn't have succeeded. They couldn’t know that there was an infected person among the survivors, and upon their return after a patrol, the refuge had turned into a ravenous army they had narrowly escaped.

_Good intentions are beautiful and noble, but sometimes they are not enough to make you a hero._

"Besides..."

"Did you see him again?"

"Yup."

Jin grits his teeth. He hoped he would never have to see the creepy Russian guy again, not long after he had managed to kidnap him and use his alter ego as a guinea pig. Even though Devil Jin had been the subject of the experiments, the body was still his own and he remembered every single electric discharge, every single needle.

_The fucking bastard._

For some weird reason he appeared in Tokyo shortly after the epidemic broke out: he had seen him wandering the deserted streets, eliminating infected people without blinking an eye, and with equal apathy he ignored the screams for help that occasionally broke the silence of that dead city. Sometimes he accompanied himself to that other disturbing guy, that Bryan Fury whose not exactly crystalline fame preceded him at every edition of the Tournament. Out of the strange duo he was the one who shot anyone on sight, infected or survivor wouldn’t matter to him. 

"Be careful, pay much more attention from now on" Lars warns him, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Russian guy was looking for you again, and it would be nice to be able to get away from here all together, possibly alive". Jin nods, promising to keep his eyes open. "By the way, how much petrol do we have?"

"With the two tanks you brought, we have enough to go beyond the walls" Jin replies, "but if we could find some more, that would be nice."

"Do we have enough time?"

“The launch of the nuclear warhead is scheduled for three days from today. We should be okay."

"We have to" Lars corrects him, running a hand over his tired face.

"Go rest for a few hours," Jin suggests, "I'll take care of it. Maybe I'll go find more fuel later. When he calms down” he adds quietly, nodding towards Hwoarang. Lars doesn't think twice and mutters a thank you; he warns him once more before collapsing on the sofa and falling into a deep sleep. Hwoarang, sitting on the ground on an old mattress, looks at the soldier but has the decency to not say anything, preferring to devote himself to the Glock instead. _That’s better_ Jin thinks while sitting on the other mattress, not before grabbing his laptop and a pair of _umaibo*_ that he kept aside in his backpack.

"How many more do you have of those?"

He turns to the red-head, who looks at him sideways. "Several" he admits, opening one. "I stocked up the last time I went out on reconnaissance. Do you want one?" he asks, and the other shrugs. Taking it as a yes he throws one at him, turning the PC on in the meantime.

"If you decide to go out later I’ll go with you," Hwoarang resumes, "if you accidentally shoot your foot, your Ikea-sponsored uncle will give me shit forever."

Jin grimaces and agrees, hoping it will calm him down.

Hwoarang’s mood has been bad for days, since Steve was infected.

" _Kill me, mate. I don't want to be a monster_ ” the English boxer cried, aware that he was now at his limit and that his sanity was about to abandon him. 

It was Lars who took responsibility for killing him when the boy started saying strange things and growling at his friend.

Lars had killed Steve, and Hwoarang hadn't forgiven him yet.

_That's enough._

Keep mulling over it is useless, and it only makes Jin feel worse. _Make yourself useful and check the news_ , he says to himself, starting the search engine. He briefly thinks about how lucky they were to still have electricity and internet connection: they had come to the conclusion that there still had to be some surviving employee barricaded inside the power plant that was committed to guaranteeing light and communication routes to those still alive. He doesn't know how long it will last, but the important thing is that they can continue to use it for another two days, just in time to finish the preparations and run away. 

_Before Tokyo will be wiped out._

The results that Yahoo Japan offers are always the same: the country is on its knees, the population almost completely annihilated except for a few rural areas and some islands, while the big cities are now deserted with only a handful of survivors left. _Who will die in here thanks to you_ he muses to himself, thinking about the government’s brilliant idea to delimit the cities with the highest risk of contagion, its walls patrolled day and night. The result was to transform them into giant tombs for those who hadn’t managed to escape in time. They hadn't been able to complete them, though: the epidemic had gotten out of hand when the walls that were meant to separate Tokyo from the Kanagawa prefecture were still incomplete, leaving a gap that they had decided to use as an escape route. They had no idea what they would find once out, but staying there was no longer an option.

Research extended to foreign news also confirms that the situation in the rest of Asia seems more contained and that the infection was taken in time, enough to isolate the outbreaks and keep them in quarantine in the hope of understanding how the infection occurs, because it has such different effects from person to person and, maybe (just maybe), finding a cure.

_It was a huge amount of “if” and “maybe”, but it was more than what we had at the time. And in that moment we had nothing but Death breathing on our neck._

Just two weeks earlier, TV stations across the nation had broadcast talk shows about the _"most aggressive cold of recent years"_ which had affected half the population. "The doctors say there is nothing to worry about, it's just a flu" the news kept repeating, at least until people had started to die: adults, the elderly, children, the epidemic spared no one.

"Maybe it's a very lethal form of meningitis" it had been rumored, because the symptoms were similar, and searches for a cure were all focused on that front. 

Then the symptoms began to _change_.

Those who didn’t die within a few days began to suffer from headache, nausea, convulsions and alterations of the state of consciousness that transformed into weird behaviors: some people were seen suddenly stop their walk and start talking nonsense, others started walking backwards, other simply stood still in silence; sightings of entire groups of immobile people in Yoyogi Park and other large areas increased exponentially. Then the infection evolved again, prompting some of the infected to kill themselves in the most atrocious ways (some launched themselves from the roof of a building, others crashed into a tree with the car, and so on), while others... went _crazy._ They lost their mind. becoming angry and incredibly violent and with the sole purpose of attacking those who were not infected.

_Zombie. Real, disgusting, fucking zombies._

Some of them advanced slowly and rotten, others instead proved to be able to run very fast and be much more aggressive than the first kind, confirming the idea that the virus keeps changing even after infecting its host. Jin had nicknamed them _runners._

_A T-Virus* is the perfect way to make my days less monotonous._

Of absurd and inexplicable things, in his young life, Jin has seen and experienced more than he wants to admit. His very existence is something inexplicable, a human being with demonic genes in his DNA. And yet he’s there, he’s alive, he _exists_. And now there are also those creatures that until then had populated those films and video games that he loved so much.

He was still in his Zaibatsu office when panic broke out because of "people biting other people", and a glance out of the window was enough to ascertain that what was happening was real and not mass hysteria that looked way too much like Biohazard*. He had made the Tekken Force available to the police and citizens to help those in need and contain possible riots - _a sad attempt to pay off my sins,_ he thought - but after the first, unsuccessful rescue attempts, the survivors had begun to fight back the Force, convinced that the pandemic was certainly their fault, that they were using them as guinea pigs to test bacteriological weapons: if the shitty old man had still been the one in charge even Jin would have thought that, but given the situation he was completely sure that it was not their fault and that Boskonovitch hadn’t hidden any type of research from him. He thought instead that the G-Corp could be the culprit, because it was the type of mess in which Kazuya would wallow with pleasure, but he hadn’t had the opportunity to prove it because everything had gone from collective panic to apocalypse within a week; during the second week the Tokyo population had been largely annihilated. The announcement of the nuclear warhead launched on the city had been made only three days ago.

 _And keep thinking about it will not help you get away from here_ he repeats to himself, looking for a distraction in the email box. A message pulls him a smile and a sigh of relief.

"Judging by your dumb and happy face, I can tell that your favourite travel-size Chinese girl has shown up and is okay," comments Hwoarang, in a more relaxed tone of voice. "What news does she bring?"

"Hong Kong is safe" he replies summarizing the contents of the email, "the few outbreaks have been isolated and work is being done on a possible cure. The others are doing well too” he adds and Hwoarang nods, satisfied by the answer. Jin agrees with him. Xiao had managed to escape during the first days, when the airports had not yet been closed, dragging Miharu and Julia with her: she was anxious about her grandfather Wang, and had asked Jin to go with her. When he refused ( _the best time to play the damned hero, of course_ ) she had made a big scene driven by concern for him, that ended with the promise of keeping in contact and reaching her as soon as possible. Since then they had always updated each other, and thanks to her he knew that Lei, Paul and Marshall had managed to escape to America, while Lili Rochefort's stalking habits had saved his cousin Asuka's ass. Now they were both in Munich, apparently still free from the virus.

They had decided to reach Xiao in Hong Kong, and maybe learn more about that antivirus, and then move to a safer area.

 _At least I hope_.

He sends Xiao a brief answer, then closes the laptop and stands up, picking up his backpack: "Come on, move your ass or I'll leave you here" he turns to Hwoarang, who stands up suddenly and picks up weapons and luggage.

As he closes the door behind him, Jin turns to Lars, still asleep, and for a moment he wonders if it would be appropriate to warn him and barricade the door properly.

The red-head seems to guess his thoughts: “Don't worry, the man who came from Ikea is safe. We’re on the top floor and those things have not yet learned to open doors."

"Call me paranoid but that's not enough to reassure me."  
"Every time I slept here alone nothing ever happened."

"That’s because they didn't smell a functioning brain."

"...Kazama, fuck you."

*

In less than an hour they manage to collect some gasoline, several packaged onigiri and other types of ready-made food, and even first aid material. The search was good and relatively quiet: following Lars' directions they avoided Shibuya and the groups of runners, going instead to Shinjuku and walking along the Toei Oedo Line, stopping at every shop that wasn’t devastated; the whole district seemed deserted, with the exception of a few infected that were almost completely rotten. It's when Hwoarang unsuccessfully scours the police station for ammunition that Jin has an epiphany: “If I remember correctly there is a hospital along this road. And a grocery shop."

The other approaches him, pulls out the map and asks him to indicate where they are: "We are on the edge of Shibuya, from here on it's Nakano" he replies, pointing to the police station and then the hospital. Hwoarang puts the map away and nods: "Okay, I ain’t understand anything of the ten thousand neighborhoods in which Tokyo is subdivided, but since we’re here I’d say we could go to the shop you’re talking about and maybe take some more patches on the way back."

Jin frowns: “We have no idea what the situation in Nakano is. We have never been there, and we don't know-"  
"If we don't try, we won't know! What we have to lose at this point?"

"Our lives?"

"Of course you’re always a little bundle of joy, aren't you?"

Going into a still unexplored area, without the slightest idea of what the situation was - if there are survivors, if they would find runners - is something that Jin doesn’t like at all, he feels it in his bones. But the thought of finding other supplies and medicine is tempting, and ultimately he gives in.

“Okay, we’ll be fast. No stupid spurs of the moment."

Hwoarang smiles: "Boy scout word!"

"You’ve never been a boy scout."

*

_In retrospect, I blame myself for not having listened to my instinct._

"I'd say the walk has been a failure."

If the visit to the grocery store had proved useful, the visit to the hospital had been a waste of time: someone else had already ransacked it, leaving just a few painkillers around and a morgue full of zombies (with the door firmly closed, at least).

Jin nods as he puts away the few useful things found in the backpack (some medicine, syringes, bandages) and puts it on his shoulder: "I told you that was not the case."

Hwoarang grunts: "I hate you when you say 'I told you so'."

"But _I told you_."

They keep bickering as they make their way through the dark corridors, one hand on the torches and the other on the weapons; the squabble goes on, albeit in fairly calm tones, and Jin doesn't mind it after all: before _that_ , quarrels and fights were the norm between him and Hwoarang, and now more than ever he needs something that tastes normal. And he assumes the same applies to the red-head.

They're crossing the first floor corridor to go to the stairs when Jin feels that annoying tingling behind the back of his neck again.

"What now?" Hwoarang asks, but he doesn't answer him right away. He looks around tensing his ears, but for a moment he seems to calm down: "I thought I heard something, but maybe I was wrong..."

They resume their journey, but Jin stops again shortly after.

"Steps."

"Are you sure? Maybe it's just the echo of ours, given the silence...” the other reply, but shuts up just in time to hear them too.

_STOMP._

Heavy steps, not dragged.

_STOMP._

Jin cautiously approaches the balustrade that overlooks the hospital lobby.

_Shit!_

He hides behind the wall dragging Hwoarang with him and gesturing for him to speak in a low voice. With one hand he points to the lower floor. Hwoarang chokes a snarl: "Fuck..."

Below them, Bryan Fury and the Russian creep are patrolling the environment, blocking their escape.

"What do we do now?" Hwoarang whispers. "As long as they're there, we can't get out of the main entrance!"

Jin does not respond but has his eyes on the other two, who continue to wander aimlessly through the hall: something in their behavior puts him on alert, so he keeps an eye on them, while Hwoarang mutters something about not even being able to move from there until those two go away, otherwise they will hear them. He silences him with a movement of his hand and gestures for him to observe Fury: “Look at him. Do you notice anything weird?"

Hwoarang does what he said. Bryan Fury, downstairs, apparently seems the usual asshole who kills for fun, yet something is wrong: his eyes move nervously from one point to another, he often stops and then takes a few steps backwards, and even if he can't hear him well, his lips open and close quickly, as if he was talking to himself. Furthermore, the Russian guy also seems to keep an eye on him from afar: he probably has his own suspicion and is just waiting for the right moment to kill him.

_That would be a major stroke of luck._

"Is he infected?" Hwoarang asks, and Jin nods. "Probably. What I wonder is how he managed to get the virus" he says, "he's a damn cyborg!*"

"He evidently had enough humanity left to want to erase it like that," replies the other. “And of course never a joy for us. We have to slalom between two maniacs, one of whom is infected. And we can neither go down the stairs nor go back!"

"Wait, I think they are moving” Jin whispers, leaning slightly over the balustrade. "Ok, come on," he says, going back to the former orthopedics ward from which they came. "I saw a map of the hospital earlier, let's see where the emergency stairs are."

_After all, I didn't ask for much, only to be able to escape from there without those two psychos noticing us._

"Okay, we should be there."

Two wards later they finally find the stairs. Jin consults the plan (wisely detached from the wall, so they don’t have to rely on their memory) and indicates the left turn in the corridor where they are located, about ten meters ahead. Apparently they managed to outrun Fury and the Russian, but they can’t be really sure.

"You think it's solid enough?" Hwoarang asks, observing the damaged floor: there is a point where the beams can be seen and the concrete has given way, creating a hole that offers a view on the underlying floor. The rest is full of cracks and doesn't look stable at all. Jin leans slightly beyond the hole: “We don't have much choice, dude. Unless you want to have a chat with those two."

Hwoarang doesn't have to think twice: he quickly crosses the dangerous area, avoiding the holes on the floor as much as possible, managing to go beyond without falling below. Jin looks at him for a moment, while the other opens his arms making clear that it would be appropriate to hurry. "Yeah, I’m coming" he mutters, and tries to repeat Howarang’s steps: he walks close to the wall away from the hole, trying to remember all the (relatively) safe points.

But a moment of carelessness is enough to make him put his left foot on a dangerous beam that breaks and makes him fall below.

"Kazama!"

"Holy cow..."

He luckily landed on a strangely soft surface, and aside from a few scratches caused by the debris that fell on him, everything seems fine.

"Kazama?!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine" he replied, "just don't scream... I wouldn't be surprised if they heard the collapse." 

While getting back to his feet he learns that the soft thing he fell on was a mountain of sheets to wash. “Look, run away through the stairs. I’ll try to leave from the main entrance, it shouldn't be too far from here” he adds, and pulls the map out again, trying to read it despite the dim light. Hwoarang however doesn’t seem to agree: “Bullshit! I'm gonna find a rope or anything to pick you up!"

"It’s nice of you to worry about me, seriously, but given the state of the floor you’ll risk to reach me at any moment" he gestures towards the gash above him "if you try to rescue me it could collapse further. And if we get hurt and those two find us..."

"Okay okay, I get it" the other mutters. He doesn't seem to want to move from there, but in the end he has to give in: “Fine, I'll see you out. But try not to get killed, I don't want to have to explain it to your Ikea-sponsored uncle!"

Jin smiles and salutes: "Yes, sir."

He hears him mumbling a "fuck" and the footsteps that go further away, until he no longer hears them.

_Okay, let's get out of here._

The map reveals that he’s in the laundry area: the same corridor houses the nurses' kitchens and changing rooms, and is connected to the emergency room area. From there he should go back to the hall and take the exit door.

_If those two haven’t returned to check the source of the noise, of course..._

But waiting is not an option, not to mention that from where he is now there's no other escape route, so he has to make his way through the debris and cautiously turns into the hallway. 

_Green light._

Even the emergency room seems to be empty, and for this reason he decides to go straight to the hall without checking the rooms. The urge to get out of there is so hard it pushes him to ignore that suspicious noise behind him, forcing himself to think it’s only a rat or a door that creaks because of the wind.

_But there’s no wind here..._

Within a second he feels two arms around his neck holding him with inhuman strength.

“My my, if this isn’t the Mishima kid! Big catch today!"

_Shit!_

All he can say is a half-choked "F-Fury" as he tries in vain to free himself from that deadly grip. The other does not fail to notice his useless efforts and laughs shamelessly: "In flesh, bones and adamantium skeleton!*"

"D-don't forget _infection_ " Jin replies, but to his surprise the other does not flinch: "Oh, you ruined my surprise! Too bad, I would’ve liked to leave you a souvenir that you would have noticed too late" Fury tightens his grip. "By the way, how did you notice? I never thought you were this smart."  
"l-I saw you from the balustrade on the first floor... you and the Russian" he admits, without mentioning Hwoarang. One victim is enough.

"Oh, you had to be the best student in school!" Bryan laughs again, and brings his free hand close to Jin's face: the skin is gray and the infected blood under the nails is congealed. “One scratch and you're screwed, Mishima jr. Then I'll give the Russian the honor of finishing you. He won't be happy he can't continue his experiments on you, but honestly… I don’t give a fuck. I have priorities” he grins and folds his fingers like a claw.

"Don't... don't count on it!"

Jin luckily manages to kick the cyborg between his legs, with enough strength to make him loosen his grip on his neck, and free himself: Jin grabs Bryan’s left arm and a flap of the vest, lifting him enough to throw it on the ground. He tries to climb over it and exit the door but Bryan blocks him by grabbing one of his legs and making him fall on the floor. The backpack and the shotgun fall with him, but he doesn’t have the time to grab the weapon because the other man turns him on his back and sits on his chest: "Sorry, little shit, it takes more to knock me out” Bryan growls, his eyes bloodshot. "The queen is dead, long live the queen!"

 _He’s gone mad!_ he thinks while listening to the cyborg’s nonsense: the infection is so advanced it won’t take long before he completely changes. And a zombie with Fury’s strength...

"Long live the queen! The empire has fallen, the gates of hell have opened wide and Satan is ready to trample this land together with his army of demons!"

Jin reaches over his head and pokes around until he finds the shotgun. The cyborg is so lost in his delusions that he doesn't even notice it. With some luck he manages to grab the barrel of the weapon until he holds it like a club, and with a very fast movement he uses it to hit Bryan on the temple.

"I'm sorry but I won't stay here to assist-ARGH!"

Fury grabbed him by the wrist, sticking the nails of the exposed skin area. "Dasvidaniya* your grace" he grins, one last delusion before Jin knocks him out with the rifle. Without thinking, he grabs his backpack and runs towards the doors, crosses the hall and takes the exit, without even bothering to check if Bryan or the Russian creep are chasing him.

As soon as he is outside, he hides behind an ambulance overturned on its side, just in time to hear the door being open again: he leans carefully and sees the soldier patrolling the courtyard, but finding no suspicious presences, he goes back inside. A few minutes later he hears a chilling scream coming from inside, probably from the cyborg. Several shots follow, then silence.

The Russian creep must have found Fury and killed him.

Jin inhales: he probably doesn’t have much before the other goes out, he should hurry up but he cannot move. He lifts his sleeve and looks at the wound, a few scratches but deep. It itches terribly.

_Fuck you._

He would like to scream, the Kami know he needs it, but he cannot afford it. Hwoarang should be nearby, they must return to Lars and flee Tokyo before it is razed to the ground. 

_Or at least help them._

He'll take care of himself later, now he needs to stay focused. With one of the gauzes found in the hospital, he covers the wound the best he can and hides it with the sleeve of his shirt, deciding that it is not the case to let Hwoarang and Lars know his condition right now.

_Later, maybe._

Finally he gets back on his feet and runs towards the gate as quietly as he can, turn right and follow the road until he reaches the end of the hospital walls. 

A familiar red-head is waiting at the next intersection.

"Hwoarang!"

"Finally! How long did it take you? I heard shots, I thought they found you..."

"No, the Russian creep killed Fury. Let's go before he finds us."

The other nods and sets off. 

Behind him, Jin is scratching his left arm.

_It was a partial truth, but at the moment it was the best I could offer him._

*

“We have to leave. They anticipated the launch of the nuclear warhead."

Back at the Zaibatsu, Lars welcomes them with the worst news.

"When?"  
"Tomorrow morning at six. I checked the internet earlier."

"At six? In... six hours?! "

"Sonova-!"

Hwoarang completes the sentence by kicking the already battered sofa. Jin is too upset to reply. _Just to add insult to injury…_ he thinks, repressing the instinct to touch the offended arm.

"Look, if we leave now we can do it safely" Lars explains, taking the map and showing them a new path: “I did the math: it takes an hour and a half to reach Kanagawa, two if we really encounter some obstacles. We have enough time to get there, find the helicopter and disappear before the city is razed."

Jin and Hwoarang exchange a puzzled look, and the latter nods: “Okay. Collect all the supplies, I’ll run quickly to the armory and recover other ammunition. See ya in the parking lot” he adds, and without wasting any more time grabs his backpack and runs out of the room.

"Well, let's get down to business."

Jin would like to help Lars collect their belongings, but his body decided to betray him right now. _If I move a muscle I'll throw up_ he thinks, feeling the nausea resurface... and not only that.

**You're such a drama queen, kid.**

The only reason he doesn’t scream is to not alarm Lars.

 _Be quiet_ he thinks, turning to the _other_ : Jin’s demonic self had begun to make him feel his presence shortly after fleeing the hospital, and for a moment he had feared they were the first signs of the infection.

 **No boo boo for you, you should feel lucky** , the other had mocked him. **That virus cannot hurt you.** He had tried to ignore him as much as possible, but physical fatigue and weakness did not help.

"Jin, are you okay? You’re so pale."

Lars is half a meter away from him, the backpack on his shoulder and two bags full of supplies in his hand. Jin nods his head and smiles: "I'm just very tired, the visit to the hospital was not exactly a healthy walk" he laughs ( _what a shitty joke_ he adds in his head). In order not to make him suspicious, he grabs his backpack, a tank of petrol left over and the shotgun, fighting the desire to throw up the Christmas dinner of ten years ago.

"Which hospital have you been to?" Lars asks as he opens the door and checks out the corridors.

"Nakano."  
"Why the heck did you go so far?"

"My fault" he admits, "we were around there and I thought we could find other meds. Instead there were only Fury and the Russian creep” he lets slip. 

Lars's eyes widen. 

"They didn't see us" he lies, "but I heard shots. I think Fury was infected."

It seems Lars can’t choose between a sigh of relief and a well deserved earful. He decides to opt for a neutral response: “At least they’re no longer our problem. But when we're far from here we’ll talk about it again" he adds. Jin smiles and follows him down the hall.

**You're getting good at lying.**

Him again. He tries to ignore him, but the voice doesn't give up.

**Sooner or later they'll find out, you know.**

_Not if I can avoid it._

**And what exactly do you want to do? Keep covering yourself in gauzes until you’ll look like a mummy? I think they may start to have doubts.**

_Fuck you._

**You're way too hateful to who's trying to save your ass, kid.**

_You saving my ass? And then what, raining frogs?_

"Do you have the parking lot keys?"

Lars' voice distracts him from that mental squabble.

"What?"

"Do you have the parking keys?" he repeats, and Jin nods: "Yes, yes, I have them" he answers, holding the inquiring gaze of his acquired uncle. The latter nods and starts walking again, passing the Boskonovitch laboratories and taking the internal stairs, when he sees Jin stopping again.

"What now?!"

“I have to do one thing first. Go ahead” he replies, throwing the keys to Lars. "I want to check the lab."

"Right now?!"

"We still have six hours, don't we?"

"Five now. And I don't think we should waste any more time!"

“It will take me a few minutes, I promise. I want ... I just want to see if there is anything that could come in handy, maybe something Boskonovitch was working on” he lies again, fully aware that the scientist had vanished with Alisa at the end of the first week of infection. "Or even just a few drugs that I haven't noticed the other times I've been there" he adds, and his lie seems to have an effect: the need for first aid medicines is real. _At least this._

Lars gives in: “Okay. Ten minutes, no more. See you at the parking lot” he concludes, running down the stairs. Jin enters Boskonovitch’s lab instead, pointing straight to the lockers and the vials left on the tables. 

**Let me get this straight, do you really want to waste time looking for an antidote that doesn't exist?**

Jin ignores him and continues to go through the documents scattered around and reading the labels of every vial or bottle he can find. He manages to recover two first aid kits that had escaped him the first time he had explored those rooms.

**You’re truly a lost cause, and I’m not even talking about the infection.**

Silence.

**Really, you should stop trying to go down the martyr path, it doesn't suit you. You’ll end up doing bullshit, as we all know.**

The other's giggle is one of the things that annoys Jin the most, but he knows very well that he cannot afford a fight with his other self. His research seems to come to an end when he notices the vials in a machine whose function he does not know. On closer inspection, he sees the hastily written notes: _Antivirus attempt. Failed._

His heart sinks.

_I'm dead._

**Again with the drama! You are not dead.**

_Not yet. But in an hour I could..._

**You could, in fact. It's not for sure. In an hour you will see, I'm pretty sure you’ll have to thank me.**

_I don’t think so._

**Talking to you is like having a conversation with a rubber wall. Even the Korean kid would be a better listener than you.**

With that last sentence he finally shuts up, and Jin decides to join the others in the parking lot.

_I have nothing left to lose now._

*

_Never in my life would I have thought that my demonic self would have been my only salvation._

Too slow.

He’s still trying to reload the shotgun when the racer jumps into the jeep and extends its rotting hands towards him.

_Shit!_

"Stay down!"

He does not have time to identify the voice: he crouches suddenly, just in time to hear the rumble of a shot and the runner collapsing forward. Jin kicks him away with one foot and turns to the back of the lot: Lars and Hwoarang are running towards him, the latter with a sniper rifle in his hand.

"You really don't know how to fucking use a shotgun!"

Jin laughs wholeheartedly: "I won't tell you to fuck off only because I owe you a favor."  
"A big one, my dude" the other chuckles, getting into the jeep with Lars: "So, you found anything?" the latter asks, taking the driver seat. Jin shakes his head: “Nothing much, apart from a couple of first aid kits. He got lucky instead, I see."

"Oh yeah, this little baby was hidden under a cabinet in the armory" he smiles, stroking it like a pet: "I called it Vera.*"

Jin shakes his head again and gives the car keys to Lars: "Fasten your seatbelts, kids, we are going to take off!"

Lars' driving is not exactly safe and suitable for the faint of heart, and it wouldn't be a problem if Jin's nausea wasn't affected by it.

**Be quiet, kid. It will pass quickly, I already told you.**

"Kazama, is everything ok? You seriously look horrible."

"I'm infected."

Lars brakes abruptly, just outside the Zaibatsu parking lot. Both he and Hwoarang look at Jin.

"What?!"

He does not respond, but simply raises the sleeve on his left arm, showing the bandage.

"But... but how, when...?"  
"Wait, wait! It was Fury in the hospital, wasn't it?" Hwoarang yells, and Lars yells back at him: “Fury? You said you didn't get close to him! "  
Hwoarang is about to say something, but Jin silences him: "It doesn't matter, what’s done is done now."  
“What do you mean? Didn't you go to Boskonovitch's lab to-"  
"To seek medicine, yes. And an antivirus" he admits. “Boskonovitch had tried to synthesize it, before disappearing. But apparently it didn't work, I’ve found the failed tests."

For a few minutes no one talks. On their shoulders the weight of that news and the awareness, at least for Jin, that the end is coming.

"And now what?"  
"Nothing. When it is time you’ll kill me" he replies dryly, trying not to let the anxiety that is devouring him get out. Or maybe it's the infection, he thinks.

"There... no, there must be a way" Lars mutters.

**I'll say it for the last time: you will not die.**

"And why should I believe you?" he whispers, without even realizing he's talking out loud.

"Jin, who are you talking to?" asks Hwoarang, without getting an answer.

**Because I need you, imbecile. I need you alive to use your body, unfortunately. If you die I can't do anything anymore.**

"How can I be sure?" he continues, unaware of the worried looks of the other two.

**Because my vast powers don't include necromancy, but I can make sure that the virus doesn't attack your cells. So reassure your traveling companions, you will not become a zombie, but you will remain an idiot.**

"Jin...?"

"He... he says nothing will happen to me."

"Who is he?" Lars asks, but it is Hwoarang who replies: “Wait, were you talking to the Flying Horned Asshole?"

Jin laughs and nods: "Who would have said that one day I would have been happy about my curse?"

**Of course you're laughing now, even though just two seconds ago you were writing your last will. You should be really thankful I need you alive.**

After a few moments of silence Lars asks: "Do you think you can trust him?"

"He says he needs me alive" he replies. "As a corpse, he couldn't... use me, so to speak."

“Then we can trust him,” Hwoarang says, “it's his typical way of doing things. Now, man who came from Ikea, let’s go and kindly try not to nail like that anymore."

Lars looks at him grimly but does what he said, muttering a _dra åt helvete_ * that neither of them knows the meaning of, but Jin suspects it's some kind of swearing.

During the journey they remain silent. From time to time Lars and Hwoarang glance at Jin, because basically none of them trust his demonic persona too much, but Jin doesn't bother. He doesn't trust him either. And yet...

 _And yet I’m still here_ he thinks, checking the wound: the scratches are still there, but they just look like normal scratches. No more hematoma and dried blood. Nausea has decreased and so has the fatigue. Maybe _he_ wasn't lying.

"You know, you may have found the solution."

Jin turns to Lars: "For what?"

"I mean... if the Devil gene really repressed the infection, you could synthesize an antivirus from your blood, or something."  
"Are you serious? At the risk of passing the gene on to millions of people? "

“Doesn't this only happen if you have a child who will share your DNA? Or does it also apply to blood? "  
"Well... I don't know!" He admits. "I have no idea how demonic genetics work, but I don't think it's worth taking the risk."

Lars shrugs: “We’ll see once we arrive in Hong Kong. I’ve already told your favourite Chinese chatterbox" he smiles, and Jin blushes. He will never admit it out loud, but he can't wait to see her again.

"Do you know what a shitshow the world would be if the Devil gene could pass through the antivirus synthesized by Kazama’s blood?" mutters Hwoarang, without addressing anyone in particular. “They won’t become zombies but they would get horns and wings instead, and they would fly around laughing like psychos. What a marvelous image.”

Had Jin enough strength, he would drop a punch on Hwoarang’s nose, but he’s so tired he lets it go. He even laughs along with him. "How long is it until the launch of the nuclear warhead?" he asks, and Hwoarang checks the time: "I think four hours, maybe less"

Lars accelerates: "Now it will take much less!" he screams, and in doing so he hits a couple of zombies. 

Hwoarang chuckles: “Strike! We be fast..."

"...and they be slow!"* concludes Jin. Hwoarang’s laughs tells him that he appreciated him getting the quote.

Finally, they can see the walls that separate Tokyo from Kanagawa: the gap can be seen from their position.

"Here we are" whispers Jin, with a slightly trembling voice. The fear of something happening right now is skyrocketing.

"Here we are" Lars confirms. 

"And now?"

"And now we look for the helicopter, then we run away."

Both Jin and Hwoarang nod.

_It is the end of the world as we know it, and I survived._

**Author's Note:**

> *Umaibo: a savory snack made of puffed corn and shaped like a cylinder. Its mascot is Umaemon, based off Doraemon.  
> *T-Virus: Resident Evil’s infamous bio weapon. In my headcanons Jin is a big nerd and I love to make him reference nerd stuff!  
> *Biohazard: Resident Evil’s japanese name  
> *"he's a damn cyborg!": Bryan’s half human half robotic nature gave me some doubts about the possibility of infecting him, and Namco has never been very clear about how many organic parts are left in him… so I just went my way and decided he had enough organic parts in him to be at risk of infection.  
> *Adamantium: a fake, virtually unbreakable material that exists in the Marvel universe. Wolverine’s skeleton is made of adamantium.  
> *Dasvidaniya: Goodbye in russian. I don’t think Bryan knows russian, but at that point in the story he was just babbling nonsense.  
> *"I called it Vera.": If you know Firefly then you’ve probably caught this nod to Jayne Cobb’s Callahan rifle, called Vera. XD  
> *dra åt helvete: Fuck you in sweedish. At least according to the online dictionary.  
> *“Strike! We be fast..." "...and they be slow!": a quote from the first, amazing Ghostbusters movie.
> 
> So, for this contest each participant had specific sets of prompts and situations to use: mine were the use of the shotgun as a weapon and my protagonist had to survive. I wasn't sure of the good use of the weapon, but let’s be honest… I doubt Jin is capable of using a shotgun, lol.  
> A little note on the zombies of this story: I’m an avid horror fan, so I decided to put together a kind of zombie (and situations) with characteristics taken from various horror movies I love, and thus the virus that randomly evolves according to who is hosting it was born. The runners were inspired by REC (okay those weren’t exactly zombies, but you get it), while the weird symptoms (walking backwards, deliriums, etc) are an omake to my favourite M. Night Shyamalan’s movie, The Happening. I know a lot of people dislike it, but I love it, lol.  
> Title needs no introduction, I suppose. :p  
> As for the place names and the distances between each place, Google Maps was my best friend for this and tried my best to be as accurate as possible, and also trying to understand the maze that are Tokyo’s districts. Also, I don’t even know where the Zaibatsu exactly is (thanks again, Namco), so I decided it was in Tokyo.  
> Anyway, if you’ve read it this far, THANK YOU!  
> I hope you enjoyed the read!
> 
> Mana


End file.
